1. Field of the Invention
The subject invention relates to a package design for a contour flat blade style wiper blade specially configured to protect the fragile wiper element during shipment without the need for auxiliary sleeves or expensive packaging elements.
2. Related Art
An emerging trend in windshield wiper blades are the so-called flat blade or yokeless style wiper. In its free state form, a flat blade wiper exhibits a pronounced curvature, which flattens when pressed against a windshield to conform to the shape of the windshield.
Packaging containers used to ship and display a flat blade style wiper have proven to be especially challenging for numerous subtle and diverse reasons. Replacement windshield wiper blades are typically packaged individually for sale in retail establishments. The wiping element of the wiper blade, i.e., the thin rubber strip which directly contacts the windshield glass, is somewhat fragile and must be protected through shipment and handling so that a good, clean wipe is achieved when the replacement wiper blade is finally installed on an automobile.
Protecting this delicate wiper element can be a challenge in flat blade style wiper products due to the pronounced natural curve of the blade. In particular, the tips or ends of the wiper element tend to be crushed inside the package during shipping. The prior art has taught the use of prophylactic devices to protect the delicate wiper element, which prophylactic devices are removed and discarded prior to installation of the wiper blade on the windshield. Prophylactic devices of this type may include plastic or paperboard sleeves, as well as specially molded or formed containers or cage-like frames that clip onto the flat style wiper blade. The flat blade, together with this prophylactic device, is then slipped into an outer sleeve or jacket forming the actual shipped product that is eventually displayed for retail purchase.
Thus, according to prior art techniques, the packaging for a flat blade wiper usually consists of two components: namely the inner guard-like prophylactic device which protects the wiper element, and the outer sleeve or covering which is attractively decorated with marketing indicia. Those of skill in the art will readily appreciate the added cost and complexity for shipping a flat blade style wiper device in two-part packaging.
Notwithstanding the cost complexity and weight issues, there is yet another concern somewhat peculiar to wiper blade sales. A large majority of retail customers feel compelled to remove the actual wiper blade from its package for visual inspection prior to purchase. If the wiper blade does not meet the buyer's satisfaction for any reason, the buyer makes a hasty attempt to return the blade to its packaged condition and re-hang it on the display shelf. However, if the process of returning the wiper blade to its original packaged condition is complicated or time consuming, the buyer is likely to do a poor job. As a result, the wiper blade is less attractive to the next buyer. Therefore, there is a need for a package that can be easily and properly re-filled with a wiper blade during the pre-purchase inspection process.
An additional consideration in terms of presenting replacement wiper blades for sale in a retail establishment comprises the amount of shelf space required to display the packaging. In the case of replacement wiper blades, these packages are typically hung on hooks and arrayed according to size and application. The smaller the packaging in both width and depth, the greater quantity of stock can be placed for a sale in a given aisle of the store. Conversely, it is important to emphasize the pronounced natural curve of the flat wiper blade.
Prior art packages having both inner and outer packaging components typically consume more selling space than would otherwise be desired. The reason is that the protective inner device used to guard the wiper element from damage increases the bulk of the entire packaging unit.
Furthermore, the prior art style packaging systems are bulky items. Often, the packaging designs cannot lie flat in the unfilled or empty condition. The empty package assembly, therefore, takes up an undesirably large space in a manufacturing plant waiting to be filled with replacement wiper blades.
For all of these reasons, an improved packaging system for flat blade wipers is needed in which the inner protective component for the wiper element can be eliminated, where the finished package assembly is as small as possible to provide added display space in a retail establishment, and in which the package can be shipped in its empty, flat, unfilled condition and wherein a prospective buyer can easily remove the wiper blade from its package for visual inspection but then easily return it to the package again.